CVE-2020-7768 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) CWE-1321 vulnerability in grpc. A fix is available for grpc — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Prototype pollution in grpc and @grpc/grpc-js
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, a proxy for how much of the ecosystem is exposed.
grpcnpm@grpc/grpc-jsnpmDescription
"The package grpc before 1.24.4 and the package @grpc/grpc-js before 1.1.8 are vulnerable to Prototype Pollution via loadPackageDefinition."
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | grpc | all versions | 1.24.4npm install grpc@1.24.4 |
| 📦npm | @grpc/grpc-js | all versions | 1.1.8npm install @grpc/grpc-js@1.1.8 |
Affected Products
grpcgrpcDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for grpc, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update grpc to 1.24.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-7768 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2020-7768 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.